How to Search for images of the 1908 City of Auckland Map

Searching
Explaining the Search Criteria
Displaying Records after a Search
Troubleshooting

Searching

To conduct a search:

Enter your search criteria in the query boxes. Alternatively, click on Browse (where available) to pick a term or word from the field indexes. (For further information on the Browse button, click here.)
If you fill in more than one box, results must meet all criteria. For example, the search will find map sheets that display a street containing the word "customs" AND a building containing the words "post office".
Click the Search button.
Images that meet your criteria are displayed in a report.

Using a Word Wheel (Browse button)

Click on a Word Wheel (Browse) button to display a dialogue box that shows words and/or terms for which you can search. This eliminates trial-and-error searching and makes searching easier. For more information, click here or on the Help button on the Word Wheel dialogue box.

Using the AND-OR-NOT drop-down list

You can do more advanced searches using the AND-OR-NOT drop-down list in front of a box. The Boolean operator you select for a box determines how the search criteria in that box will be combined with criteria already evaluated. Boxes are evaluated from top to bottom (first box to last).

Reset button

To clear your search criteria, click the Reset button on the search page.

Search button

To start your search, click the Search button.

Explaining the Search Criteria

Keywords

Finding words and phrases

You can search for map images that have a particular word or words in their title or content description. Type the word you want to find (grafton) or type a phrase (lower albert street) to find those words in that order. To find variations of words, type an asterisk at the end of one or more word stems (for example, wai* will find waite, waitemata, etc.).

Use the symbols & / ! between words or phrases to represent Boolean AND, OR, NOT within one query box. Include a space before and after the symbol.

Use the proximity operators w# (within) and p# (preceding) to find words near each other (where # is a number). You can also include an asterisk (*) at the end of either word (i.e. wai* p5 harbour). However, do not include phrases (i.e. up* p5 queen street).

Try the examples below:

Type this…	To find…
lower albert street	a phrase (those words, in that order)
albert / queen	either word (or both)
albert & queen	map images that contain both words (images that contain just one of the words will be ignored)
queen street ! upper	“queen street” but not “upper”
wai* p5 harbour	“waitemata” preceding “harbour” by 5 words or fewer. You can include an asterisk at the end of either word. Do not include phrases (up* p5 queen street).
public w5 school	“public” within 5 words of “school” (before or after). Do not include phrases.

Words joined by & / ! are evaluated in left-to-right order. For example, street & belgium / queen finds images with a description that contains the words "street" and "belgium", or that contains "queen". Use parentheses to control evaluation order: for example, street & (belgium / queen) finds images with a description that contains the words "street" and "belgium" OR "street" and "queen".

Finding an exact word

The database will look for matches to exact words unless you use an asterisk (*) as a wildcard. To find variations of words, type an asterisk at the end of one or more word stems, e.g. wai* will find waite, waitemata, etc.

Finding an exact phrase

To search for an exact phrase, precede it with an equal sign (=). For example, =river terrace finds only that complete term (does not find just "river" or just "terrace" or that phrase embedded in other text).

Case and punctuation

Case in query criteria is usually ignored (a search for queen street finds Queen Street). Punctuation is also ignored, except for the AND-OR-NOT symbols (& / !) and search symbols (for example, : = < >). If you do not want these characters to be interpreted as search symbols, use quotation marks ("Post Office & Telegraph Bureau") or replace the punctuation with a space (Post Office Telegraph Bureau).

Street

Using this query box, you can search for images that display a particular street. Enter criteria in the same way as you would for the Keywords query box.

To find a street, enter the full name: Queen Street or Greys Avenue or Beach Road. Alternatively, click the Browse button to pick from a list of street names on which you can search.

Please be aware that street names may have changed over time. For example, Anzac Avenue was previously known as Jermyn Street and Coburg Street is now known as Kitchener Street.

For a full list of previous street names, please visit the Auckland city street names index on the Auckland City Libraries' website.

Building / Place

This query box can be used to search for images that display a specific building (General Post Office (Britomart), the Leys Institute, etc.) or place (such as parks, beaches, walking tracks). Enter criteria in the same way as you would for the Keywords query box.

To find a building or place, enter all or part of the name: Leys Institute or Leys. Alternatively, click the Browse button to pick from a list of buildings and places on which you can search.

Map Title

You can click Browse and then choose a map by name from the Record Title list. This title refers to the name of the original map sheet within the Archives database. In most cases, you would do this so you only retrieved an image of a particular map sheet.

Map Number

You can browse and then choose a map number from the Record No list. This number refers to the record number given to the original map sheet.

This number relates to the grid reference of the individual map sheet on the index sheet. The sheets have been numbered in accordance with this grid reference.

Displaying Records After a Search

A successful search finds one or more records, which are displayed in your Web browser as a report. Use the browser controls as you normally would, to browse, print, go back, and so forth. You can also:

Jump to other locations. Click links on the report to display more detail or jump to other pages. Details on the specific links are available at the top of each page.
Display additional pages. Click the Next and Previous buttons on the report page.

Troubleshooting: Searches

If you are having trouble with a search, some of the most common problems are listed below. If you do not find an answer to your problem here, please contact Auckland City Council archives.

I got the message "No query criteria specified."

You pressed the Search button without specifying any query criteria.

Specify what you want to search for by typing words and/or phrases in the query boxes or by selecting choices from the Word Wheel (Browse button). Then press the Search button.

I got the message "Unable to recognize as a correctly formed query."

The program cannot understand the search criteria. Possible problems include:

Typographical errors
Mismatched quotes or parentheses
Extra Boolean search symbols (for example, you should have typed queen / albert instead of queen / albert /)
Missing quotation marks around symbols that can be misinterpreted. For example, search for "Post Office & Telegraph Bureau".

If you cannot determine what caused the error, try a simpler search (for example, just a word in a box) to see if it works. If the query box includes a Word Wheel (the Browse button), use it to construct the query, instead of typing criteria. If even simple searches do not work, contact Auckland City Council archives.

I found too many records.

If you used an asterisk, omit it and try an exact search instead (for example, search for waitemata harbour instead of wai*).

Try using a Boolean symbol (& / !) between words to construct more precise queries. For example, to find map images of Queen Street, but not Upper Queen Street, search for queen street ! upper.

If the item you are searching for includes punctuation, substitute spaces for punctuation (for example, search for Post Telegraph Office, not Post & Telegraph Office) or surround the item with quotation marks ("Post & Telegraph Office").

I did not find any records.

Examine the contents of the search screen to verify that you do not have query criteria left over from a previous search.

If you are not sure of the spelling or exact name, use an asterisk after the first few characters (for example, ban*) or separate several possible spellings with a forward slash (for example, search for bank / bankside).

If you did a complex search, try simplifying it to eliminate confusion. If the query box has a Browse button, use it to view and paste items for which to search.

If you are trying to find records that contain multiple words anywhere in the record, separate the words with Boolean symbols (& / !). Otherwise, you are doing a phrase search, which finds the words in the order entered in the query box.

If your search includes Boolean symbols (& / !), put spaces around the symbols.

Do not use words (and, or, not) for Boolean operators. You must use the Boolean symbols (& / !).

Try using / instead of & between words. Using / means either word can be present (shelly / beach finds Shelly or Beach). Using & means both words must be present (shelly & beach will not find just "Shelly" or just "Beach").

When I try to display records or change forms, I get the message, "Your current query has expired. Perform the search again."

The query set file that stored your search results has expired, so you will have to do your search again. If this message occurs frequently, please contact Auckland City Council archives.

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